User:Zellfaze/Monocacy Notes

These are the notes that I have compiled about Monocacy, Maryland. Page is not really formatted for reading on this page itself. It would probably easier to read in a text editor.

Notes

[1] Before 1738 Creagerstown was known as Monocacy

Monocacy was a lost village which has never been located. There are signs of existance going back to 1730 and it would have been about a mile to the East of Rocky Ridge. It might have not been a town, but just a general area around the church that was there.

[2] German settlers arrived in Frederick County in 1729. The first settlement created was known as Monocacy. This would have been the oldest village in Western Maryland. It was located near Creagerstown. The first German church built in Maryland was built at Monocacy. It was called "the Log Church". The Log Church was built sometime between 1732 and 1734. Monocacy was the main settlement in the area up until the laying out of Frederick Town.

The town had a number of taverns and was built along Monocacy road. Monocacy road was a road built by the governments of Maryland and Pensylvania. The road followed an Indian trail. In 1808 Monocacy road was macadamized.

In 1896, Rev. George A. Whitmore, a resident of Thurmont, wrote upon interviewing two residents of Creagerstown who were in "bordering on 80 years" about the location of the Log Church, he had been told that Creagerstown was built on the old location of the church. Whitmore mentions that one of the people he interviewed, Mr. W. L. Grimes Sr., actually helped tear down the Log church so that the new church could be built in its place.

Whitmore goes on to say that traditional lore states though that the town of Monocacy is located to the southeast of Creagerstown at the intersection of Monocacy Road and Poe's Ford nearby Hunting Creek. Both Whitmore and his contemporary Mr. Schultz investigated the site and found flat land with a few dwellings. In a History of Frederick County, Mr. Schultz is quoted as saying that the location to the southeast of Creagerstown "agrees in every particular with the data that we have heretofore been able to obtain and I therefore believe that the few old houses and the graveyard are all perhaps that remain of the ancient village of Monocacy."

Washington is said to have referenced the village in one of his letters.

In 1729 there is a reference to a village called "Monocasie" in Frederick made by a Mr. Carroll to the Pennsylvania authorities.

By 1732 to 1734 the village was somewhat important for the area. "As late as 1747 it posessed accomodations better than those of Frederick."

The town of Creagerstown supplanted Monocacy sometime between 1760 and 1770.

[3] Monocacy trail was a major Indian trail that would eventually become a wagon trail from York to Pennsylvania. The site of Monocacy has never been located. In the late 60's Charlotte Hearthly, then a senior in high school, mounted a search for the site. Monocacy was the site of the earliest church in Frederick County. It is uncertain whether the settlement was just a few houses or if it was actually a village. The location of the village was at the spot where the Monocacy trail crossed Monocacy River.

[4] Many locals believe that their land parcels were the site of Monocacy. Much of the evidence for where Monocacy is located has been destroyed. Spencer Geasey speaks of a location where there was a school, a cemetary, and some other log buildings. He states that the area is now developed though and an dig in this location would not be useful.

There is no doubt that the Log church existed. Two different riding ministers both wrote about the church at different times. They were riding trails about 10 miles north of Frederick. During the French and Indian War the site was mentioned in the Maryland Gazette. The town was located near Creagerstown and Jimtown. According to Paul Gordon, one expert has stated that the Sebastian Derr house may once have been a church and might be the old site of Monocacy.

There is a lot of evidence that the settlement existed, but not a lot of tangible evidence as to where it was actually located.

[5] In 1999 a documentary film came out about the region titled "Monocacy" which chronicles the history and pre-history of the area and the town. The documentary was produced by Chrish Haugh for GS Communications.

[6] The complaint made by Mr. Carroll in which he mentions Monocacy was made because the area was under dispute by Maryland and Pennsylvania.

George Washington's letter was written in August of 1756.

Monocacy was founded by Germans. It was not founded before 1725. In 1730 Monocacy trail was made into a wagon road.

Citation Locations

[1] Gazetteer of Old, Odd & Obscure Place Names of Frederick County, Maryland Compiled by Louis B. O'Donoghue Published by The Historical Society of Frederick County, Inc. Frederick, Maryland Published in 2008 ISBN: 0-9714376-6-1

[2] History of Frederick County Maryland by T. J. C. Williams by Folger McKinsey Originally published 1910 L. R. Titsworth & Co Republished 1967 Published by Regional Publishing Company Baltimore, Maryland ISBN: 0-8063-7973-1 Volume 1

[3] Baltimore Sun Magazine 25 May 1969 Page 4 Searching for a lost town Girl believes she's found site of Monocacy - In her own backyard

[4] Frederick Gazette April 13, 1998 The archaeological needle by Paul Gordon

[5] 'Monocacy' film premieres Sunday by Ike Wilson The Frederick News Post March 27, 1999 Page A-15

[6] The Baltimore Sun A Ghost Town of Western Maryland October 23 1932 by Fred R. Seibel Jr. Page 12